Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-01-23

4
GOOD. It is true that the stock Of the
company may become private property,
end the company may, by proper
methods and within legal limits, make
money for the stockholders, and the
money so made is private, but the fran
chise of the corporation emanates from
the State, and, presumably, for
the general good, consequently
the power to subordinate private
right and to condemn private
property is given to the corporation.
Whenpriyate pers0nsinyest theirmoney.
in the stock of the company they do 80
with knowledge of It's charter, and
that the franchise conferred upon the
corporntion is for the general good, AMI
cannot be used rs a mere private right.
The coTporation owns the franchise,
but the public are interested In its Just
exercise. When private property be-
comes blended with public functions,
the dual relationship must not be over
locked in the management. Thepublic
! interest is not 70 be sacrificed % the
private, nor the private to the public
Now, The public interest in railways is
that the corporation shall exercise its
/ functions as q common carrier for the
use and convenience Of the community,
and without prejudice to individuals
along and in the vicinity Of It's line
/ The private interest and right OF the
corporation is to charge reasonable
| freights for the service it performs. The
citizen has the right TO demand of the
corporation transportation for hisperson
and property over its line. If this is
improperly refused damages may be re-
covered.
If there is IL general refusal amount
/ ing to an abandonment Of It's charter
| functions then the courts may annul
| the charter. The citizens then having
| the right 10 demand transportation of
the corporation, they have the right to
have il upon the same terms that are
prescribed for other citizens along the
same line. "Flesh is not TO be made
of the people of one locality and "fowl
Of the people of another locality. The
right to charge fair and reasonable
/ freight rates ought b. be left to the
wise discretion OF the directors of each
road, provided there are no discrimine
tons There are two principal factors
that enter into the question OF freight
rate. One, the quantity and kind Of
| freight to he carried the other, the dis
lance Of the haul If the directors
/ fix their frcight-rate at given sum per
| hundredweight or per square foot Of
/ space occupied over their whole line,
| then their rates for a shorter distance
over the same line should he III proper
ton to the rates fixed for The whole
/ line. do not insist on an exact pro
portion, but upon an approximation to
it, so as not TO oVcrburlen the shipper
who resides near the pom! Of delivery.
Equality Of transportation w3s I'M
piled when the railway received It's
public franchise, and this equality can
not be secured unless the freleht-r-ta is
uniform and IN proportion f. weis or
bulk and distance Ia bc carried. II
farmer Sims from Gorlonsylle u Rich
mond q carload Of wheat, a distance of
seycuty-iye miles, and is charged fifty
dollars, ana another farmer ships from
Stanton q carload Of wheat a distance
of $50 miles, and is charged fifty dol
dclars, then the farmer who ship, from
Gordonsyille is unjustly Disseminated
against, and the railway is not aifording
to him that equality of transportation
that was contemplated when the road
was Incorporated and given the right
To- condemn the lands of the farmer
near Gorlonsyi.le for the use of its
track as q public agency. the object and
purpose Of which would be to afford
facilities to the farmer whose land Vas
/ condemned, aud indirectly TO aprTe-
ciate the value Of his other hand
But under the present schedule
OF freight-rates by which the producer
near market Is charged nigh rate and
/ the producer remote from market Is
/ charged low rates, the leading idea IN
( tie original construction of railroads
/ 10 wit, that they were for the public or
general interests entirely ignored
I 1t is a notorious fact that railroads pay
very little attention to producers who
must find q market over their lines, and
demand Of them the highest rates /;
while to tie producer who may find a
market over some other line they o1er
/ the greatest inducements and the very
I lowest rates. This method of pro-
noting the interest of the syndicates IS
unjust, and, regarding railroads as pub
[ lie agencies for the promotion Of the
general interest, Is illegal The com
mmities against which these unjust and
/ Illegal determinations are made are the
/ ones which were mostly instrumental in
/ the construction OF the railroad. There
Is not railroad in Virginia that
was not originally incorporated and
constructed for the convenience
and interest of the people in the Vi
/ cinitv of its line, and over which they
would find a market for their produc-
tons. And in condemning the lands
| for It's use the local advantages Of the
line of transportation were To be- con
sidored and estimated and deducted
from the d0magcs awarded the land
owner Then We know that when sub
scliptions to the stock of the company
were solicited the local conyeniences
and advantages of the road 10 the
poople Of its vicinity were mca3 with
great force. and subscriptions ~ .ndi-
viduals were made III consideration OF
these local advantages. Then does 1t
not seem to be an outrage upon justice
to permit the milroad thus built As a
public agency to Cypress end destroy
10y unequal and discriminating freights
thc very people and localities that
brought it into being? To prevent
this outrage the principle of the Rca-
gan bill prohibiting a greater freight
charge for shorter than for
longer haul should not only
he sustained, but should be carried to
the extent of prohibiting as hrge
charge for a short as for q long haul.
Railways should not be permitted to
discriminate against one class of ship
pcrs and in favor OF another class be-
cause there is competing line of
transportation as to the latter class.
The Augusta shipper seeking the Rich
mond market over the Chesapeake and
Ohio railway should not be given
lower freights than are given to the
Louisa shipper merely because the
Augusta shipper may send to Baltimore
over the Valley road, while the Louisa
shipper is obliged to send to Richmond